(Right, part two. This chapter is based on Irin's character, Briya. Thanks to everyone on the forum again and special thanks to Irindiglo for letting me play with Briya. I hope I haven't damaged her too much... :P)
A warm breeze swept across the beach. The leaves of the nearby palm trees stirred and small clouds trailed their way across the perfect sky. The sea glistened with the beauty of a thousand diamonds and the sand sparkled and glittered. The eye of heaven blessed the island with glorious radiance. The only word to capture the true beauty of the scene was divine. Paradise itself, at least for now.
The island had its dark days, where the splendour of the scene took a sour humour. The gentle breeze that caressed could easily turn to a roaring gale that whipped and stung. The small, pearly clouds could turn the darkest hue of black and blot out the light that now blanketed the land. They could reach neck-break speeds, whirling over the ocean, driven by the dragon of a hurricane that brought floods of water and consumed everything left unprotected. But today wasn't a dark day. Today was one of those beautiful, amazing days where nature is completely at peace with itself. Today was a wonderful day, when all was right with the world. It would be a long time before the world would see one of those days again.
A butterfly, almost as bright and golden as the sand that sparkled below fluttered past, on its way to the next vibrant flower. Topaz like eyes watched it on its journey. Then the observer closed her eyes, relishing the wind as the breeze whispered across her skin, and gently pushed her hair aside. She allowed her head to relax against her shoulder and listened to the island samba band practised in the concert. She began to follow the music in her head. Perhaps she could catch a few minutes sleep before...
Then the world began to shake. She gripped onto the branches around her.
"Briya!" Her muscle-bound brother shook the tree using one hand. "Get down here. Mam's shouting for you."
So much for sleep.
Briya managed to climb down from the upmost branches of her favourite tree with exceptional speed. She was as every bit athletic as her brother was muscle-bound. Even with the over-sized ape shaking the trunk, she still managed to get down without any hassle. Her brother stomped away without much further ado.
Rolling her eyes at her brother's 'macho' act, Briya skipped down the last few metres of tree, landing lightly on the ground. She began to follow him back to the house, trying not to get lost in the crowd.
The streets of the island where always busy. No matter what day of the week, there was always something going on. It didn't help that today was the day before Hallowe'en. A major celebration on the island. Everywhere she looked, there was something to do with the upcoming festivities. There was a stall selling fireworks and decorations. Another selling fresh pumpkins and sweet toffee apples. The sound of the street combined with the vibrant hues of houses and warm atmosphere made the island one of the most visited in the Caribbean. This season was the busiest by far, but Briya didn't like it that much.
Secretly, Briya loved the island in the winter, when it was calmer. Sometimes, she could walk down the street during the colder months and believe the whole island was hers. She could believe she was the queen of the entire island, an exotic, beautiful kingdom that consisted solely of herself. Briya shook her head. Daydreams where for those that have the time to have them.
Briya the front door of her house open carefully. Her mum, though a cool person, could get a bit touchy about the state of her house. Briya's mum was definitely one of the most house-proud people on the island. There wasn't an inch of wood that wasn't polished to a brilliant shine or an ornament which hadn't been dusted. The scent of various different fruits filling the room was overcome by the welcoming aroma of baking bread.
Briya found her mum in the kitchen, boiling a kettle.
"Briya!" she said while placing a few cups on the table. "Do you remember the exchange student I mentioned? The one that would be staying for a few months studying Biology?"
Briya nodded her head and was about to reply when a new voice interrupted her.
"Wow!" a red-headed boy entered the kitchen through the back door, giving Briya's mum a dazzling smile. His American accent sounded unusual and surprisingly colourful. "That garden is really something."
Briya found herself unable to look away from the boy as her mother explained.
"Briya, this is Axum. He's the exchange student I was talking about. He's from Chicago."
"Hey, there." Another dazzling smile was sent Briya's way.
Suddenly, she felt as if she was in for a very interesting few months.
(Btw, Mearad's love interest in the last chapter WAS NOT anyone from the RP. Okay, Irin? :D That's why I wrote it so it was more like infatuation than true love. There are methods to my madness, most of the time. :P)